THE FACES OF SIXTEEN INSPIRE FALL MENU

The Michelin Two-Star Restaurant Debuts its Fall Menu on September 24, 2014

CHICAGO – September 24, 2014 – As the crisp air and turning leaves signal the start of autumn, Executive Chef Thomas Lents and the culinary team at Sixteen are pleased to debut a new menu that honors the myriad individuals that inspire the dining experience at the Michelin Two-Star, Forbes’ Five-Star restaurant at Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago.

After exploring “The Story of Chicago” last winter, the transformative “The Day and Night Sky” for the spring, and the “Convergence of Land and Water this Summer,” the restaurant debuts its newest menu on Wednesday, September 24: “The Faces of Sixteen”.

Inspired by those who comprise the day-to-day success of Sixteen – dishwashers, line cooks, sous chefs, servers, hosts, farmers, purveyors, and many others – this season’s menu includes four sections that guide the multi-course menu. Those sections include:

 

Snacks

The menu begins with a series of small bites that celebrate specific team members of Sixteen, including:

• Pumpkin and ricotta byrek, inspired by the Albanian heritage of one of the restaurant’s expediters
• Pine smoked venison with cranberry and caribou moss, a nod to the hunting prowess of a long-time cook
• A stew of bitter greens and palm butter wrapped in rice, an interpretation of a steward’s most loved dish from his homeland of Liberia
• A small bite of the classic turtle soup finished with a touch of sherry, a reminder of one captain’s time spent living in New Orleans

 

Inspirations

For this section, guests may choose between two series of dishes: one illustrative of the team’s culinary mentors, another focused on the team’s cooking styles and their influences on one other.

The “Inspirations From Our Past: Mentors” series includes three small dishes of New Zealand langoustine constructed to pay tribute to the world-renowned chefs that Chef Lents has worked alongside: Joel Robuchon, the Dublin-based Kevin Thornton and Jean Joho. The three langoustine preparations are:

 

• “En gelle” with salsify and buckthorn
• Sea urchin foam, lemon verbena and passion fruit
• Alsatian gewurztraminer sauce, sesame and spinach

 

“Inspirations From Within: Colleagues” includes three small dishes featuring wild sturgeon and ossetra caviar. These dishes explore the differing styles, strengths and skills of Sixteen’s Chef Lents, Chef Heisinger and Chef Montanez and include:

 

• Cold smoked with puffed grains, coconut and cucumber
• Butter poached with caviar fumé and shirred egg foam
• Grilled with charred onion, fleur de caviar and dashi

 

Connections

The next section of the menu highlights the individuals who connectSixteen to the rare and wild ingredients that make the restaurant’s meals truly exceptional. Guests may choose between two dishes in this category.

 

• “Bringing the Wild to the Kitchen” is inspired by former Sixteen cooks who now forage and source wild mushrooms and game for the restaurant. This dish includes matsutake with warm foie gras mousse, currant, duck heart and mizuna.
• “Bringing the Rare to the Kitchen,” recognizes one of Chicago’s great food treasure hunters and his ability to source truly unique jewels. The dish features Comté soufflé with truffle, walnut and roast pear.

 

Relationships

The third section of the menu spotlights the special relationshipsthat Chef Lents has forged with two purveyors that allow Sixteen to bring world-class products to diners, often specifically raised and even hand-selected for the restaurant. The purveyors’ products are showcased in two dishes:

 

• “Trust Built Through Time,” with turbot from the Brittany Coast served in two preparations, one a chowder with coquillage and coffeeand the other wrapped in fresh tobacco, fennel, plum and red wine.

 

• “Personalized Through Friendship,” features poussin and hay in two presentations: whole roasted in hay, hazelnut, onion and apple elderflower reduction, and leg and thigh with charcroute, turnip and truffle.

 

Sweet Snacks

Crafted by Executive Pastry Chef Aya Fukai, the dessert portion of the menu begins with four small bites mirroring the snacks at the start of the meal, also inspired by individuals that make up the day-to-day success of Sixteen. Snacks include:

 

• A pear sorbet with Earl Grey tea, cubes of ripe pear and pear pate de fruit that represents Seedling Orchard’s Peter Klein and his love of fall's perfectly ripe pear.

 

• Opera torte of almond joconde with coffee buttercream and Manjari ganache served with coffee streusel and Marcona almonds is inspired by Chef Fukai recently teaching a cook how to make an opera torte, supporting the emphasis on mentoring expressed by her mentor Chef Jiho Kim at L’Espalier in Boston.

 

• Baba au bourbonwitha chocolate cake doused in bourbon syrup, and served with lime-scented Chantilly, and chocolate crunch commemorates a Sixteen cook and his love of bourbon

 

• A Chinese custard flavored with grapefruit and eucalyptus and served with pomegranate gelée, reflecting the favorite food of the second protein station chef.

 

Dessert

Main desserts follow the sweet snacks, with courses highlighting the roots of two front-of-house managers. Guests may choose from the following:

 

• Bringing the Cellar to the Floor, which features chocolate and red Bordeaux in a black walnut cake with Bordeaux soaked prunes, mascarpone and frozen Tainori mousse. This dish highlights Sixteen’s Sommelier and Restaurant Director Dan Pilkey, including his passion for wine. There is even a square presentation of the mousse, symbolizing Dan’s ubiquitous pocket square.

 

• A Captain’s Transformation into a Leader features apple and fenugreek in an apple cake with maple yogurt, fenugreek ice cream and lemon balm. This dish favors Jessica McGlynn, Restaurant Manager at Sixteen, by featuring one of her favorite memories of visiting Michigan’s Franklin Cider Mill with her father in the fall. A nod to Jessica’s Mexican heritage, the dish also includes a pepita crumble under the fenugreek ice cream.

 

The twelve-course tasting menu costs $185 per person. Wine pairings may be added for $125 and a reserve pairing may be selected for $185. A la carte options are also offered upon request. Dinner is served at Sixteen nightly from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. To view menus or to make reservations, please visit the restaurant online or call (312) 588-8030.

 

About Sixteen

Located on the 16th Floor of Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago, Sixteen was designed by Ivanka Trump and Chicago-based architects Valerio Dewalt Train Associates. Featuring world-class, modern American cuisine from Executive Chef Thomas Lents, Sixteen has received four-star ratings from Chicago magazine and the Chicago Tribune, a coveted two-star designation from the 2014 Michelin Guide, and a Five-Star designation from the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide 2014. Sixteen serves breakfast daily from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. and Sunday brunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Lunch is available Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner is available daily from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Bar at Sixteen, as well as the adjoining Bridges Room, open daily at 11 a.m. and serve a casual bistro menu from 2:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. For reservations, please call (312) 588-8030. You may also visit Sixteen on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and on its recently launched blog, On Sixteen.

 

About Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago

Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago, located in the heart of the city at 401 N. Wabash Avenue, welcomed its first hotel guests in January 2008. The hotel, comprising floors 14-27 of a 92-story residential tower developed by the Trump Organization, features 339 luxuriously appointed guestrooms including one-, two- and three-bedroom suites; Sixteen, the two-star Michelin-rated restaurant featuring the modern American cuisine of Executive Chef Thomas Lents; The Spa at Trump® with 53 specially appointed spa guest rooms; the Trump Health Club; Rebar, a chic cocktail lounge; The Terrace at Trump and more. Designed by the noted architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with interiors by McGinley Design, Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago is a stunning addition to Chicago’s distinguished skyline. The hotel and restaurant were each awarded five stars by the esteemed Forbes Travel Guide in 2014. The property has also been recognized by Travel + Leisure as one of the top 5 hotels for business travelers in the "World's Best Awards" 2012 and named one of the “World’s Best Hotels” for 2013. For room and event reservations at Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago, call (312) 588-8000, (877) 458-TRUMP (7867). Follow the property on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

 

About TRUMP HOTEL COLLECTION™

Launched in October 2007, TRUMP HOTEL COLLECTION™ is the next generation of luxury hospitality – one that is raising the bar in the top-tier travel experience with a level of customized service unrivaled in the market today. Presided over by internationally renowned developer Donald J. Trump and his three grown children – Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric – the prestigious portfolio includes the highly acclaimed Trump International Hotel & Tower® New York, Trump International Hotel & Tower® Chicago, Trump International Hotel™ Las Vegas, Trump International Hotel™ Waikiki Beach Walk®, Trump SoHo® New York, Trump Ocean Club®International Hotel & TowerPanama, Trump International Hotel & TowerToronto®, and Trump National Doral® Miami. Trump®International Hotel, The Old Post Office, Washington, D.C. is slated to open in late 2015, followed by Trump International® Hotel & Tower Vancouver in 2016. Reservations can be made at www.TRUMPHOTELCOLLECTION.com or by calling (855) TRUMP-00 (878-6700). TRUMP HOTEL COLLECTION is headquartered at Trump Tower, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Connect with TRUMP HOTEL COLLECTION on its social media pages.

 

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